The world-premiere recording of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s magnificent Messe Solemnelle, written for the name-day of Nicolas II, Prince Esterházy, in the early 1800s. A forward-thinking, adventurous composer, Dussek’s music is becoming recognised as some of the most innovative of its time, and this, his last major work, is no exception. A deluxe edition, this album features a 100-page full-colour book packed with scholarship and full sung texts, presented together with the CD in a hard slipcase. Performed here for the first time since composition over two hundred years ago, the Academy of Ancient Music are directed by Music Director Richard Egarr, a champion of Dussek’s music, and joined by a brilliant cast of soloists: Stefanie True, Helen Charlston, Gwilym Bowen and Morgan Pearse. Recorded from a brand new scholarly edition of Messe Solemnelle created by Reinhard Siegert for Richard Egarr and AAM from Dussek’s autograph manuscript score, this album is a first-rate recording of an important piece by one of history’s most unfairly neglected maverick composers.

• Stefanie True (soprano), Helen Charlston (mezzo-soprano), Gwilym Bowen (tenor), Morgan Pearse (baritone)
• Academy of Ancient Music, Choir of the AAM
• Richard Egarr